


watershed

by The_Empress_of_Everything



Series: per deim [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hokage Haruno Sakura, POV Haruno Sakura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 12:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13365159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Empress_of_Everything/pseuds/The_Empress_of_Everything
Summary: watershed: noun1.an important point of division or transition between two phases, conditions, etc.(Let the past die, but never forget it.)





	watershed

Rocks crunched under her shoes. She could’ve walked silently, not disturbing anything or anyone with her passage, but the days of always putting others first, always bowing to the wishes of others, _polite_ Sakura were long gone. 

They had been buried with her team. 

The flowers in her hand didn’t shake; they were as steady as the beat of her heart, as the hum of the village behind her. She could sense the ANBU behind her, shadowing silently to ensure her safety. She didn’t actually need them following her. The odds of her being attacked within the Village were the lowest they’d ever been.

Another thing she had her dead team to thank for. 

Her knees creaked as she lowered herself down before the marker. The side effects of using her Strength of a Thousand Seal were many and varied. She might be aging faster than a normal person would and no doubt would be dead before any of the Konoha 12, but it was worth it for all the lives she’d saved. 

Scarred fingers trailed down the stone, tracing the characters that made up the names of her most precious people. Four years since the day they died. Four years since her heart had been buried with them. But she’d rallied; she’d had to. The village needed her after the war. Konoha had recovered, regrown, and fixed itself. With a new era came a new Hokage.

A whisper of movement behind her alerted her to the presence of another person, one of the living. 

“Hound.”

Despite having such a huge character defect as being constantly late, Kakashi always knew when he was needed most.

“I’m here to escort my cute student back to the village.” 

She laughed as she dragged herself upward, every bone groaning in protest. The wince that crossed her face was gone before it came. “Not your student anymore, Kaka-sensei, and haven’t been for a long time.” 

Sakura couldn’t see his face, hidden as it was behind the ANBU mask and the other mask he liked to hide behind, but she could sense his smile. “Of course not, Hokage-sama. But I’m still here escort you back to the village when you’re finished paying your respects.”

With one final look at the grave marker, Sakura resolutely turned back to the village. Her place was with the living, protecting those her dead had given their lives to protect.


End file.
